National Silicon Facility controversy threatens to become a major issue

The papers had been signed, the decision taken, and the deal clinched. Everything about the collaboration with Hemlock Semiconductors Inc suggested that the American company would help the Government set up the Rs 92 crore National Silicon Facility (NSF) - a project designed to produce 200 tonnes annually of the one key material required for the electronics and solar energy programmes: silicon.

Suddenly, however, everything was wide open. Last month, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered a review of the collaboration decision on the ground that it was too expensive, and wanted a second look at whether Indian scientists could deliver the goods on their own. That split the country's scientific establishment down the middle, while Hemlock's East German rivals quickly reached Delhi for fresh negotiations.

The German offer, though cheaper than Hemlock's, had been rejected earlier because it came too late in the day. But last month's unexpected developments now offered them a fresh chance to clinch a prestigious contract.

The Germans, however, figured only on the periphery of what had
blossomed into a messy controversy, with the two main options being the
Hemlock collaboration and a wholly indigenous effort that would build on the work already done by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of
Science and Mettur Chemicals, and by the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune.

The domestic option had been rejected by an official
committee last year (India Today, May 21, 1984) as being unproven, but
this situation changed a couple of months ago when Mettur Chemicals
submitted to the department of electronics some polysilicon that it had
produced. Subsequent tests showed that the material met the required
quality and purity specifications.

This was followed up by some deft
lobbying by the director of the Indian Institute of Science, C.N.R. Rao
(awarded the Padma Vibhushan on Republic Day) and by A.R. Vasudeva
Murthy, who headed the research team at the Institute.

The Government's
department of non-conventional energy resources, which is in charge of
the solar energy programme and which therefore will be the most
important user of the silicon produced by the National Silicon Facility, also put in a strong word against the Hemlock collaboration.

The
department argued that the Hemlock technology would be outdated quickly, once a cheaper method using the amorphous silicon technology was fully
developed.

Rajiv Gandhi himself is believed to have questioned the wisdom of investing Rs 92 crore in a project whose initial output would be worth no more than a few crores of rupees annually. Those opposed to the Hemlock deal argued that the interest on Rs 92 crore could be used
to import and stockpile all the silicon that the country would need for
the next few years, till the amorphous silicon technology became fully
developed.

Also, Mettur Chemicals already had a two-tonne pilot plant
that could be scaled up to 20 tonnes with a relatively small investment
of Rs 9 crore. Until the solar energy programme takes off (there is
uncertainty as to when this will happen) this capacity would be large
enough to meet the full domestic demand.

Rajiv Gandhi questioned the wisdom of investing Rs 92 crore in the project. Also, Mettur Chemicals already had a small plant that could be scaled up with a little investment.

If all these arguments made sense, a number of heavyweights in the scientific establishment continued to push for the Hemlock collaboration.

S. Varadarajan. director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who headed a new team asked to study the options, was believed to be in favour of Hemlock, though when asked by India Today he declined to comment.

Also, the director of the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune wrote to Varadarajan saying that his scientists were not in a position to deliver the goods. But insiders said that this verdict was at least partly influenced by NCL's in-house politics.

The arguments put forward by those in favour of staying with Hemlock were several: it would not be easy to stockpile imported silicon for the simple reason that its export was regulated by the US government, and most sellers were in any case fully booked: the domestic option was of dubious merit because both the Bangalore and Pune scientists had a long way to go before their work was completed: and the amorphous silicon technology would not sweep aside the Hemlock technology for a long time to come.

With the controversy threatening to become a major issue concerning the importance attached to domestic work in research and development, the several leading actors in the drama seemed to be taking entrenched positions and extreme stances.

Said a well informed and impartial observer of the scene: "This has become a political issue, and the relevant questions are not being debated dispassionately. I think the final outcome will really depend on who has more influence in the Government."

Some of the prime minister's aides, meanwhile, were working on the possibility of pooling the entire national expertise in polysilicon by forming a new outfit that would then be given charge of producing not just polysilicon but also other vital raw materials required by the electronics industry.

If necessary, the new team would rope in non-resident Indian experts, as had been done in the setting up of the Centre for Development of Telematics.

The feasibility of the proposal was being worked out last fortnight. and unless Varadarajan was able to register his strong support for the Hemlock option, it seemed likely that the Government would ultimately go for the domestic option.

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